This event is sponsored by the Friends of San Pedro Valley Park.

December’s program is for all those folks interested in fungi and mushrooms. These fruiting bodies pop up out of the ground during the fall and winter, and J.R. Blair from San Francisco State University will help us better understand what they are and what they do. Do not miss this fascinating and informative program.

• The webinar will take place on Saturday, December 12th at 4 pm. Reservations are required, so please RSVP to the Friends of SPVP email: [email protected]
• If you are interested in participating, please respond by noon on Friday, December 11th at noon.
• On the day of the lecture, an invitation to join the webinar will be sent about 30 minutes prior to the talk so that everyone can be ready by 4 pm.
• The lecture – with Q&A – will last one hour.
• Questions can be submitted in writing using Zoom.
• The Q&A session will take place at the end of the lecture.

About the program: J.R. Blair will give a presentation on the amazing world of fungi – Ecology, Habitats, and Life Cycles of Fungi. He will discuss the ways in which members of that ubiquitous and fundamental kingdom proliferate, thrive, and participate in the workings of the planet and its denizens. J.R. will introduce you to the role, positive and negative, of fungi in the lives of plants, indeed of all life on Earth.

About the speaker: J.R. Blair received his bachelor’s degree at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington and his obtained his Master’s degree at San Francisco State University in 1999 studying with the accomplished mycologist, Dr. Dennis Desjardin. His thesis was Fungi Associated with Arctostaphylos in Northern California. Since that time, he has been an active member of the Mycological Society of San Francisco. He served a two-year term as President and was their Fungus Fair chairperson for five years. He has taught mushroom identification workshops for mycological societies and outdoor education programs for many years. Currently he is a lecturer of biology at SFSU and is the Director of the University’s Sierra Nevada Field Campus.